Venus Williams' Fitness Inspiration: Her Tight Dresses!

Even a rigorous training and tour schedule doesn’t keep a pro athlete like Venus Williams from worrying about her figure on occasion. “I wear a lot of tight dresses, so I’m like, ‘I need to do my sit-ups,'” the tennis star told PEOPLE backstage at the Wendy Williams Show, where she was promoting her partnership with Tide Plus Febreze Freshness Sport. Though she is as tough as they come on the court, Williams admitted one big weakness–sweets. “I really like candy. Sometimes you lose track of what [and] how much you’ve eaten, and then you’re like, ‘Oh God, what have I done?'” she told PEOPLE. So other than hitting the ball around, what does the lithe tennis player do to keep fit? “I started swimming. I love being in the water–and I was never was a good swimmer–but in the last week, I’ve learned to swim,” said Williams, who also recently discovered bike riding–with mixed results. “I actually had a bike accident [that I was] really fortunate to come out of. I stopped suddenly, because I thought the curb was ending, but then I stopped too soon,” she explains. “Thankfully I had my [helmet] on.” –Marissa Patlingrao Cooley; reporting by Katherine Kluznik Rentmeester